The Election of 1932
Herbert Hoover (Republican)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(Democrat)
Despair and Protest
• By 1932, millions
of unemployed
workers and
impoverished
farmers were in a
state bordering on
desperation
Unrest on the Farms
• In many communities, farmers
banded together to stop banks
from foreclosing on their farms and
evicting them from their homes
• Usually—the effort collapsed
after some violence
Bonus March
• Unemployed WWI veterans marched
to Washington, DC, to demand
immediate payment of bonuses
promised them at a later date (1945)
• Camped in improvised shacks near the
Capitol
• Congress failed to pass the bonus
bill
Disastrous Response
•Hoover ordered the army to break
up the encampment
•Tanks & tear gas were used to drive
the veterans from Washington
•Incident caused many to regard
Pres. Hoover as heartless &
uncaring
The Election of 1932
• The depression’s worst year, 1932,
was a presidential election year
• Republicans re-nominated Herbert
Hoover
• Democrats nominated NY
Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt
for president
FDR’s Platform
•Pledged a “new
deal” for the
American
people
•Repeal of
Prohibition
•Aid for the
unemployed
Election
• The only real issue was the
depression, and which candidate—
Hoover or Roosevelt—could do a
better job of ending the hard times
• Almost 60% of them concluded that it
was time for a change
1932 Election Results
• New President—
FDR
• Congress—both
houses
Democratic
majorities
Review Questions:
• What was the most important
campaign issue of the 1932 presidential
campaign?
• Who was the Republican candidate?
Democratic candidate in the 1932
presidential election? Who won?
• What was FDR’s New Deal?